To say that Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who celebrated his 100th birthday on July 10, is a colourful character would be an understatement. He is larger than life. And for about five decades he has been right, left and centre of national politics.

At 100, he shows no signs of slowing down. He is still mobile and his mind is super alert for his age; he continues to write, speak and argue. An amazing feat.

Once, he said that self-discipline was one of his longevity secrets. “Self-discipline, or the ability to control what we do in life, is life-saving. We must always try to control our desires. The first thing that we can do to stay healthy is to have a good eating habit. We should eat to live and not live to eat.”

Another secret is that one must stay active. He said: “One characteristic of the human body is that all the parts need to be used all the time in order for them to be healthy and to function well. If they are not used or neglected, they will wither and lose their ability to function well.”

He reads voraciously and that has helped tremendously. He said: “Reading newspapers every day helps to keep the mind active and improves the capacity to form words and phrases.”

I think that his constant criticism of successive governments and political leaders – I’ll refrain from saying constant carping – keeps him going too. He courts controversy because controversy fires him up.

From the time he wrote The Malay Dilemma to the time he became a dilemma to the Malays themselves; from the time he was seen as autocratic to the time Malaysians voted him into power again in 2018, he has never failed to ignite controversy.

I believe he needs to constantly debate, fight, and be in the limelight to show his relevance. And his sense of being relevant keeps him alive, keeps him going strong.

Is he still relevant? He seems to think so, as do some opposition politicians and his diehard fans. Others however feel he may have lost his relevance. But it’s debatable.

Certainly no one would say he was irrelevant in the past, especially in the 22 years from 1981 when he was the undisputed leader of the nation, squelching all attempts to dethrone him from his position both in the government and his party Umno.

But after he resigned in 2003, his political fortune slid to the extent that the very party that he had dominated at one time – Umno – felt he was irrelevant and began attacking him. The very leaders who once extolled his qualities or at least were courteous, were openly criticising him.

This was largely because Mahathir refused to retire quietly and insisted on continuing to not only have his say in the way the nation was run but to also influence events, including agitating against his successors and trying to bring them down.

And the irony of ironies was that some of the very government instruments and agencies he had used to quash dissent from the opposition and civil society during his premiership were used against him.

Remember the time he was investigated for spreading fake news? Remember the time he was stopped from speaking at a public function by police?

Mahathir even alleged that his friends and staunch supporters were being investigated or harassed by government agencies such as the Inland Revenue Board.

But through it all, like a phoenix, he rose from the ashes to become prime minister for a second time after Pakatan Harapan won the May 2018 general election, proving his relevance once again.

Although his second time as prime minister was short-lived – as fellow leaders in his own party Bersatu, except for a handful, jettisoned him in the name of protecting Malay rights – Mahathir had proved to the world that he still had it in him to lead.

For a while, he was the darling of Malaysians again, and a marvel to the world.

And why not? At 92 in 2018, Mahathir was the oldest politician in the world to be elected prime minister. It appeared to show the world that Malaysia could not do without him.

Today, at 100, he is still trying to stay relevant. Unfortunately, in the last two decades, in seeking relevance, he has become an even more divisive figure.

His focus on Malay dominance and hazy “threats” to the Malay race from non-Malays has not helped build bridges between the various races that make up Malaysia.

He continues to make all sorts of race-based remarks, and in the process has undone much of his own early work in uniting Malaysians. He has lost the goodwill of moderate, peace-loving Malaysians.

Just last month, on June 5, Mahathir announced the formation of a Malay secretariat to “find a way to return to power” to “save the Malays”. He said Malay power and rights had been eroded.

It doesn’t make sense. The Malays have a stranglehold on political power and a strong hold on the economy; they control the security forces and the civil service; and they control the direction of the nation.

Unless, of course, by “saving the Malays” he meant defeating the government of Anwar Ibrahim. He has already aligned with Anwar’s opponents and is advising the administrations of four states under the opposition Perikatan Nasional.

And we know that Mahathir is adept at political manoeuvring. After all, he helped bring down the governments of prime ministers Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Razak.

In constantly advocating Malay-supremacy politics; in constantly crying out that Malays are in danger when clearly they are not; and in further continuing to divide Malaysians, he remains a politician. He could be a statesman.

Also, by constantly harping on the same issue, he is being seen as a grumpy old man by some.

I believe he sees his continued writing and talking as contributing to the discourse on the direction of the nation. In political lingo, he wants to continue serving the nation.

He should not stop writing and talking because his immense experience and ideas can be useful. I want him to remain as vocal as ever as he enters a new decade of his extraordinary life.

But I hope, from now on, he will shift his focus to building bridges.

You see, I feel sorry for Mahathir. He deserves better at 100.

At 100, Malaysians should be celebrating him; singing his glories. But only a few are genuinely happy for him: his family and diehard fans. Sure, many politicians and individuals have wished him happy birthday, but how many of them are sincere?

My wish for his 100th birthday is that he will become a statesman by striving to unite Malaysians, by guiding younger Malaysians towards a long, healthy, and productive life, and by sharing his experience and ideas to make Malaysia better.

But however he is viewed politically, that he has made it to 100 is an amazing feat; and to have done so while being physically mobile and mentally alert and actively participating in the national discourse on the country’s direction, is even more remarkable.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.